Mainly a nosy roommate who wanted to know every single thing about my trip and who texted me incessantly until I returned home to fill her in—on most of it—in person. When I asked Davis to drop me off at my apartment after we left the small Lansing airport, I worried Vincent might think the worst. But my head was still wrapping itself around the fresh developments, and I reassured him while also promising myself everything would be okay.We stare at one another with a million words to say. Apologies and questions about the future, but we're at work now and I promised myself, and Vincent, I would be an excellent assistant. Those things have to wait.My phone vibrates in my back pocket. I'm waiting on a call from Vincent's dry cleaner so I don't waste a second pulling it free.HENRY: How is your dad?I roll my eyes and slip the phone back in my pocket without answering."What?" Vincent asks, studying me carefully.I swoosh a hand in front of my body like I can wave away Henry
"No," I sputter out quickly. "V, I'll be fine." No way I'm having a crazy beefed-up dude follow me around trying to hide in the shadows.He turns back to his papers, not seeming too upset. "Fine I'll let it go for now, but I'm leaving the discussion open for later."I pause at his doorway shaking my head. "Okay, I don't foresee that ever happening, but we can leave it open."He starts to say something else, but I walk away from the doorway. The red light on my phone flashes to life with the first of many calls scheduled for the day. It's going to be a long day, but I'll spent tonight with Vincent and that's a good reward.… I MOAN AND MUMBLE, my legs clenching together but being forced apart. My head thrashes in the pillow and my eyes pop open finally coming awake."What?" I ask dazed as Vincent's tongue finds my core again.His head pops up from between my legs and he pulls, twisting the covers away from my body. "Lie back and relax. This is a morning treat."Before I
I have tears in my eyes as I lower the phone and look to him, the first sign something is amiss.Slowly as if I'm precious and he doesn't want to damage me, Vincent takes my chin in his hands. "Mackenzie, what's wrong? Tell me."I sniffle and wipe across one eye. Doesn't he see? "I'm sad because I'm losing my job and now I need to find a new one. My boss can be a real ass, but he's grown on me."Vincent appears startled as if I've lost my mind. He even chuckles despite my sorrow. How can it be one week ago I was so mad I wanted him to fire me, but now faced with not getting to spend my days with Vincent has me ready to blubber like a small child? How much changed in a short time?He takes my phone and tosses it lower on the bed. "Go shower," he says placing a kiss on my chin, his hand running lower and squeezing one of my breasts. "You're not losing your job. It's just moving the marketing. I already told you this."It's the second time he's agreed to maintain our original ba
"How will it be a celebration if there's no alcohol?" Ashley asks."Because it's a sober celebration," I say emphasizing the word sober.She whines, sitting on the couch. "It would be a lot more fun to celebrate with alcohol."I can't disagree, but Ashley has been drinking too much lately and if staying in one time will help her, I'm willing to sacrifice. "We are going to have a lot fun.""But, Kens, how? This is your big celebration for moving to marketing. You really need alcohol.""We don't need alcohol." Only boring people needed liquor to make a night fun."How about wine then? That's a barely a liquor."I can tell we'll argue over this for a while, so rather than spend the entire night listening to Ashley complain, I give in easily. "Fine, one glass of wine.""Two.""I think there's a new rule in this friendship. No using your negotiating skills against me."She laughs. "Does that mean I win? My student loans have to be good for something.""Two glasses. But
I finish signing the last piece of paper, making my transfer to the marketing team official, and then pop the top of my brand-new company-provided laptop. It's a new week and a new department. Sitting floors below Vincent has left me hollow. I'm aware we're in the same building, but this space is so much different from the one I've shared with him for the last few weeks.The marketing department is a wide-open floor with basic carpeting and white walls. Gray soft padding lines each of our cubicles, but otherwise it's plain and boring. Nothing like the almost homey space I used to call an office sitting right outside Vincent's door. He even had a plush leather couch in his office and two bookcases full of reading material.While he used to drive me nuts with his fingers clicking over his keypad as he smashed them into oblivion, now the whole floor is full of various people tapping away at their devices. I'd much rather it be replaced with the sound of his angry death strokes.But
Nothing I can do will make up for not going on another date with him. If he dislikes me for that, I guess he'll dislike me. It's his choice if he holds a grudge for the rest of his life.I have enough boy problems. I don't need to go adding more to the mix.With my laptop turned on, I put in the company-provided password and check the large clock on the login screen. 9:01. Already an hour into work and I've spent most of my time thinking of Vincent.Not off to a brilliant start.I brought nothing personal with me into work because I was constantly aware I wasn't staying as Vincent's assistant. Either I'd quit or he'd fire me. The slimmest chance went to ending up exactly where I am now. The desk outside Vincent's office was never mine. It belonged to someone else, and I was merely renting it for a short time.Now, with a spot in my own area, I can move into this position and decorate. Make it mine with a plant—probably best to go with fake—or my favorite picture of Ashley and
I hit refresh, certain they're having a problem at the bank. My account has extra zeros. Not so many as it puts me into rich terms but more money than I should have at this point in the month. Something has to be wrong. My blood pressure rises in my panic as I try to work the math in my head.With another quick click, I scan my transaction history to find out when the money came in. There were the normal things I remember, items that took money out of my account rather than put it in—an extra run by McDonald's for Ashley one afternoon, a second trip to the store to buy more ice cream and then the auto deductions for our rent. But one very large payment is missing.Shit.The bank didn't take out my student loan payment four days ago when it should have. As it has every month for the last two years. Most of my student loan payments won't come due until I'm six months out of graduate school, but a few of them have been accruing interest the entire time I was in college, and I've bee
THE FLOOR slowly empties of people, the tap tapping growing softer as the day wears on."Burning the midnight oil on your first day?" Dawn, who I found to be an absolutely wonderful person, says stopping by my cubical. The high-top bun she started the day with has a few flyaway hairs, but her eyes are bright. I want to be her one day.She stopped in today on occasion, making sure I didn't find the training videos too boring.I did, because they were horrible, but I kept that secret on lockdown. It's a golden rule that training videos in a new job have to be the worst things you ever witness in life. I still have nightmares of what they made me watch when I spent the summer working at a hardware store. The small chain was locally owned, and the videos were home produced."Yeah, I'll be leaving as soon as I finish this last video. Have a good night."She waves goodbye and I hear the elevator doors open. I wait another ten minutes to make my move. In one fluid movement I rise fr